since the bronchitis/cold has resolved itself for nick, things have been awesome with him. he's been to school for 7 school days in a row with no headaches and no coughing. i think i can see a light at the end of the tunnel now! maybe we're even out, i surely hope so! tuesday we go to the neurologist for follow-up, then he has a ct scan since he's finished with the round of antibiotics prescribed by the ent. all that's left for him after that is follow-up with the opthamologist for one more test, but it's not going to show us anything for the headaches. so i guess the key turned out to be the elavil, which is fine with me as long as it's working. eventually i'd love to get him off of it, but for now it's definitely better than the alternative. i have my kid back, he's not dizzy, in bed, and in severe pain that makes me want to cry for him...it was so hard for me to watch him deal with all of that because he's such a good kid and hardly complains about anything.
on to other things...
tuesday i also have an ob appointment, i'll be in the 2nd trimester tomorrow. i can't wait to hear the heartbeat again! nick will be with me this time, elisabeth was there the last time. (she saw the ultrasound, nick will just get to hear the heartbeat) i think we'll take the whole family for the next ultrasound, so everyone gets to see the baby...if they can all make it depending on what's going on with school and work, etc. morning sickness is better some days and back others, the exhaustion is still there, but if i could get a full night's sleep i'm sure that would be better. all of my clothes are getting tight on me...boo. i don't want to gain much with this pregnancy since i'm already above where i should be, so i really need to get my butt moving and exercising...along with eating better. at least the girl scout cookies won't be an issue for much longer. (i have some in the freezer, hopefully i can keep them there instead of my mouth!)
i'm behind in my schoolwork, but my profs were pretty cool about it. with dealing with nick's issues, it's really thrown me off the schedule i wanted to keep with my classwork. i have a test today and some chapter reviews i need to complete this weekend and i'll be okay. i'm going to catch up on all of the other stuff over spring break.
well, i think we're going to go stuff eggs for the EGGStravaganza at church tomorrow. so i'd better get myself together and ready to go. i'm so not ready for easter, i need to get on it for sure! just one more thing to juggle, right?!?
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
i figured out what hell is like and i don't wanna go!!!
hell is the emergency room! yep, that's right, and i never wanna go there again!
two nights ago i had to take nick to the e.r. because he was coughing non-stop, sometimes so hard he was puking (nice visual, i'm sure!). his ribs were hurting so badly he was worried he'd cracked one, and his throat was burning and his head was throbbing...all from coughing. poor kid has blown blood vessels on his face, it looks like he has a rash or sunburn on it!
so i call the ped, she says to take him to e.r., she was already planning to send him for more labwork and xrays anyway and they could do it all there. we left shortly after midnight, and i drove like a mad woman to get there, passed the one car that was on the road and broke the speed limit quite substantially (not something i do often).
we got there and got to wait...
and wait...
and wait...
two men were brought into the lobby to wait to get beds, they both had come in ambulances. one man was 99 years old, had soiled himself, was barely skin and bones and could hardly sit up in his chair (at one point a nurse had seen him on a camera and thought he was about to fall out so she ran into the lobby to help him)...he sat there for a good 3 hours. the other man had just had two different surgeries done and was in severe pain and was unable to sit down...he stood there for a good 2-3 hours too.
shortly after 8 a.m. i called the ped's office only to be told i couldn't be seen until 11 a.m. so i opted to stay at the e.r. so that nick could get the tests done there, if they ordered any.
i went to the cafeteria and got breakfast for both of us, we ate and continued to wait...
and wait...
and wait...
finally, at 11 a.m. their "minor care" clinic opened (why so late in the day i have no idea!) and nick was one of the first 4 people called back to be seen there. one lady called back had come before us the night before, waited 7-8 hours and went home, then came back several hours later...she ended up possibly having pneumonia and was headed to radiology for an x-ray.
nick was seen just after her, they determined that his lungs sounded good so they said that he has bronchitis and was having severe bronchial spasms, which were causing him to keep coughing over and over once he got started. she prescribed oral and inhaled steroids and sent us on our way.
we dropped off the prescriptions and headed somewhere to get some lunch. after we ate i went back to the pharmacy and was told that the insurance company said he had no coverage...what?!? so i called the insurance company and for some reason the prescriptions were showing up as not covered but were supposed to be, so i was on the phone a good 30 minutes while they fixed it. i walked back into the pharmacy, the tech ran the meds through the system again and one wasn't covered. she said i needed to have the doctor fax a different script in or pay $250 for this one.
i knew that the e.r. was going to be next to impossible for me to get ahold of the doctor, so i called the ped hoping they could help me out. no go, since the e.r. doctor prescribed it, the ped couldn't change it since she hadn't seen him. at this point i'm an exhausted emotional wreck and start crying as i head back up to the pharmacy counter. i apologize to the tech for losing it, and explain about our e.r. ordeal and tell her my hormones aren't helping either since i'm pregnant and exhausted (and at this point overwhelmed). she gets on the phone and calls the e.r., asks for the doctor whose name is on the script, and proceeds to keep her on the phone as she runs all other options through to see if insurance will cover any of them....apparently nick's too "young" for any of them so there was no coverage on the inhaler steroids (what?!?). if i want to get them, it's $250, but the tech says she'll give me a discount and i can pay $122. well, the boy needs his meds, so i agree and she has the pharmacist fill the revised prescription.
i got up to the counter and it rang up for $200+, so i motion to the tech who had been helping me. she voids it out and rings it up, and my total is just over $5! apparently she has discretion to give an uninsured discount, so she did. it was such a nice gesture and i was overwhelmed by it...as i was walking off i started crying again. lol (gotta love those hormones...)
so yeah, after i picked up elisabeth, nick and i came home and c.r.a.s.h.e.d.!!!
stay outta the e.r.---it's hellish for sure!!!
two nights ago i had to take nick to the e.r. because he was coughing non-stop, sometimes so hard he was puking (nice visual, i'm sure!). his ribs were hurting so badly he was worried he'd cracked one, and his throat was burning and his head was throbbing...all from coughing. poor kid has blown blood vessels on his face, it looks like he has a rash or sunburn on it!
so i call the ped, she says to take him to e.r., she was already planning to send him for more labwork and xrays anyway and they could do it all there. we left shortly after midnight, and i drove like a mad woman to get there, passed the one car that was on the road and broke the speed limit quite substantially (not something i do often).
we got there and got to wait...
and wait...
and wait...
two men were brought into the lobby to wait to get beds, they both had come in ambulances. one man was 99 years old, had soiled himself, was barely skin and bones and could hardly sit up in his chair (at one point a nurse had seen him on a camera and thought he was about to fall out so she ran into the lobby to help him)...he sat there for a good 3 hours. the other man had just had two different surgeries done and was in severe pain and was unable to sit down...he stood there for a good 2-3 hours too.
shortly after 8 a.m. i called the ped's office only to be told i couldn't be seen until 11 a.m. so i opted to stay at the e.r. so that nick could get the tests done there, if they ordered any.
i went to the cafeteria and got breakfast for both of us, we ate and continued to wait...
and wait...
and wait...
finally, at 11 a.m. their "minor care" clinic opened (why so late in the day i have no idea!) and nick was one of the first 4 people called back to be seen there. one lady called back had come before us the night before, waited 7-8 hours and went home, then came back several hours later...she ended up possibly having pneumonia and was headed to radiology for an x-ray.
nick was seen just after her, they determined that his lungs sounded good so they said that he has bronchitis and was having severe bronchial spasms, which were causing him to keep coughing over and over once he got started. she prescribed oral and inhaled steroids and sent us on our way.
we dropped off the prescriptions and headed somewhere to get some lunch. after we ate i went back to the pharmacy and was told that the insurance company said he had no coverage...what?!? so i called the insurance company and for some reason the prescriptions were showing up as not covered but were supposed to be, so i was on the phone a good 30 minutes while they fixed it. i walked back into the pharmacy, the tech ran the meds through the system again and one wasn't covered. she said i needed to have the doctor fax a different script in or pay $250 for this one.
i knew that the e.r. was going to be next to impossible for me to get ahold of the doctor, so i called the ped hoping they could help me out. no go, since the e.r. doctor prescribed it, the ped couldn't change it since she hadn't seen him. at this point i'm an exhausted emotional wreck and start crying as i head back up to the pharmacy counter. i apologize to the tech for losing it, and explain about our e.r. ordeal and tell her my hormones aren't helping either since i'm pregnant and exhausted (and at this point overwhelmed). she gets on the phone and calls the e.r., asks for the doctor whose name is on the script, and proceeds to keep her on the phone as she runs all other options through to see if insurance will cover any of them....apparently nick's too "young" for any of them so there was no coverage on the inhaler steroids (what?!?). if i want to get them, it's $250, but the tech says she'll give me a discount and i can pay $122. well, the boy needs his meds, so i agree and she has the pharmacist fill the revised prescription.
i got up to the counter and it rang up for $200+, so i motion to the tech who had been helping me. she voids it out and rings it up, and my total is just over $5! apparently she has discretion to give an uninsured discount, so she did. it was such a nice gesture and i was overwhelmed by it...as i was walking off i started crying again. lol (gotta love those hormones...)
so yeah, after i picked up elisabeth, nick and i came home and c.r.a.s.h.e.d.!!!
stay outta the e.r.---it's hellish for sure!!!
Monday, March 03, 2008
where's the 'pause' button?
i wish i had a remote control to manage parts of my life. just think about it. things you messed up or want to redo would simply be a little 'rewind', and you could press 'pause' when you needed a break. things you don't want to slip away too fast could be played in 'slow motion', things that aren't pleasant could be passed over by a quick flick of the 'fast forward' button. when things just get too unruly or overwhelming, you simply press 'stop'.
i'm sure there are many things everyone would love to 'rewind' and do-over, but sometimes i'd like to rewind just to have that time back. i'm not sure i'd 'fast foward' through much (except sicknesses and unpleasant situations). i'd hate to miss out on the growth you get from living through tough times (though if they went a little faster, it wouldn't be all bad), and if i fixed all of my mistakes, would i ever learn from them?
so really, all i wish i could do is hit 'pause' every now and then. sometimes i'd just hit it to enjoy the moment a little longer, to savor the experience and make sure i remember it perfectly.
but more than anything, i'd love to have a 'pause' button....just so i could take a break from life...
...from working full-time in a job that is too dumbed-down for my full potential, where i'm the peon of people who do a mediocre job at best sometimes and i could surpass their skills if i had their credentials...
...from dealing with a sick kid whose issues are still undiagnosed except for the word "chronic" being thrown around for everything (chronic sinusitis, chronic headaches, chronic asthma, blah, blah, blah) and no one can seem to figure out how to help stop a chronic situation so this kid can have a normal life...
...from the morning sickness and nausea and exhaustion of being pregnant...
...from trying to finish my college degree as a 35 year-old working mom...
...from...
...from...
...from...
...
my list could go on, but since i don't have a remote control with a 'pause' button for my life, i vent in a blog and then jump back into life...
...and try to live it to the fullest, even if mine seems to be too full at times!
i'm sure there are many things everyone would love to 'rewind' and do-over, but sometimes i'd like to rewind just to have that time back. i'm not sure i'd 'fast foward' through much (except sicknesses and unpleasant situations). i'd hate to miss out on the growth you get from living through tough times (though if they went a little faster, it wouldn't be all bad), and if i fixed all of my mistakes, would i ever learn from them?
so really, all i wish i could do is hit 'pause' every now and then. sometimes i'd just hit it to enjoy the moment a little longer, to savor the experience and make sure i remember it perfectly.
but more than anything, i'd love to have a 'pause' button....just so i could take a break from life...
...from working full-time in a job that is too dumbed-down for my full potential, where i'm the peon of people who do a mediocre job at best sometimes and i could surpass their skills if i had their credentials...
...from dealing with a sick kid whose issues are still undiagnosed except for the word "chronic" being thrown around for everything (chronic sinusitis, chronic headaches, chronic asthma, blah, blah, blah) and no one can seem to figure out how to help stop a chronic situation so this kid can have a normal life...
...from the morning sickness and nausea and exhaustion of being pregnant...
...from trying to finish my college degree as a 35 year-old working mom...
...from...
...from...
...from...
...
my list could go on, but since i don't have a remote control with a 'pause' button for my life, i vent in a blog and then jump back into life...
...and try to live it to the fullest, even if mine seems to be too full at times!
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